As we can see in the image above, Europe and the Middle East were not as they are today. The British Empire did not exist, Germany, Switzerland and many other nations had not yet been formed. Nearly every kingdom or state was a feudal monarchy. In a world where nobles were not in spired castles and glittering palaces but were more at home lying on straw in a very basic stone house and when most people didn't leave their villiage and its surrounds in their entire lives, the idea of travelling to a far off land would have seemed alien to even the highest echelons of society.
Political context of Europe, Byzantium and the Middle East at the time of the Crusades
http://www.uoregon.edu/~kimball/images/1095-1140.EUR.crusades-CWA.152.jpg
As we can see in the image above, Europe and the Middle East were not as they are today. The British Empire did not exist, Germany, Switzerland and many other nations had not yet been formed. Nearly every kingdom or state was a feudal monarchy. In a world where nobles were not in spired castles and glittering palaces but were more at home lying on straw in a very basic stone house and when most people didn't leave their villiage and its surrounds in their entire lives, the idea of travelling to a far off land would have seemed alien to even the highest echelons of society.